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Jerusalem Candle of Hope - Limited Edition
A thoughtful gift for any gift giving occasion -created by Israeli and Palestinian women as an expression for reconciliation and peace.
The Jerusalem Candle of Hope offers an enduring symbol of peace - and it never melts! As a pillar style "hurricane" candle, it is hollow inside with its outer shell made of fine natural beeswax embedded with dried olive leaves and indigenous “everlasting” flowers gathered in Israel. It rests on a glass base and is skillfully created by Israeli women at a candle making facility in Nazareth. It arrives with a simple tealight presented in a beautifully embroidered gift bag sewn by Palestinian women in Bethelehem.
When the tealight is lit, you experience a lovely evanescent glow - one that offers a gentle illumination for peace, through women's hands!
The beeswax hurricane candle is surprisingly tall and measures 5" high x 4" wide. It comes in your color choice of white or soft amber.
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The story of the Jerusalem Candle of Hope::
In the summer of 2004, Amber traveled to the Middle East with a group of businesswomen. The vision was simple yet powerful: To bring together Palestinian and Israeli craftswomen who would otherwise be unable to cooperate due to conflict in the region.
The main challenge to organizing a joint venture between Israeli and Palestinian women is that people with Israeli passports are prohibited from crossing the checkpoints into the West Bank and only Palestinians with special permits are permitted to cross into Israel. Thus the craftswomen cannot physically be in the same place.
The candles are crafted in the hills of Nazareth at a family-owned candle making facility, made up of over 100 artisans, most of whom are newly-arrived Russian immigrant women. The simple tealight is presented in delicately hand embroidered gift bags, which are made by Palestinian women living near and around Bethlehem, many of whom are the sole supporters of their families and face difficult economic conditions.
The Jerusalem Candle of Hope not only renews the urgent hope for peace and reconciliation, it also generates much needed income for the women involved. In fact, the sale of just ten of the embroidered bags can support a Palestinian family of four for one day. On the Israeli side, Russian immigrant women who would not have steady employment, now have jobs and income creating the candle.
We understood that the current divide separating Israel and Palestine made it nearly impossible for those who aspire to co-exist without violence to work together, side-by-side. With the support of the Parents Circle, an organization of bereaved Israeli and Palestinian families who are working together for peace and reconciliation in the Middle East, we were able to identify two craft enterprises to help us create The Jerusalem Candle of Hope.
As these two groups cannot meet in person, a truck transports the embroidered bags across checkpoints into Israel. They are then driven up to Nazareth where Israeli women unload the bags and then carefully package them with the candle.The result is a beautiful combination of handcrafted work celebrating the spirit of peace through a rare collaborative enterprise.
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